The Girls In The Ground
by Thomas Mc
Summary: A grisly discovery of several old skeletons uncovered at a new construction site in Upper Manhattan reopens several old cases and brings up ghosts from forty-five years ago to haunt Catherine and Vincent. In the process of investigating this mystery Booth will be forced to face some of his own demons resulting from his recent brain surgery.
1. Chapter 1

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes:_** _A grisly discovery of several old skeletons uncovered at a new construction site in Upper Manhattan reopens several old cases. The discovery also brings up ghosts from thirty five years ago to haunt Catherine and Vincent and draws Catherine into the FBI spotlight. In the process of investigating this mystery Booth will be forced to face some of his demons resulting from his recent brain surgery._

 _This story is set between episodes 1 and 2 of season 5 of '_ **Bones'** _. It is also set a month after my story '_ **A Day In The Sun** ' _. I know that this creates a slight time discrepancy between the two shows but for this story the year is 2005. Seeley Booth's brain operation, at the end of '_ **Bones** _' season 4, was a success but it has had some minor effects on his memory and personality. Booth also can't stop worrying that the hallucinations might return._

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

A handsome well dressed middle aged man stood near the edge of the new construction site. His eyes darted everywhere as though taking in every single aspect of the ongoing work. His only apparent concession to accepted construction site attire was the blue and yellow hard hat that he wore. Those unique colors instantly identified him to everyone at the site as Elliot Burch, wealthy businessman, who happened to be both owner and primary building contractor on this project.

His gaze shifted down into the pit where the foundation would eventually be poured. This morning had been the groundbreaking ceremony. Now there was a forty foot wide by fifty foot long by six foot deep pit cut into the ground. Already there was a two foot gouge as the beginning of the layer of earth was being removed. With the roar of a diesel engine the great yellow earth moving machine plunged a massive scoop into the ground and continued cutting a large swath in the earth.

The dirt filled scoop raised up and the sound of the engine was suddenly competing with several shouts of surprise and horror. The well dressed man ran down the wooden ramp and over to the great yellow machine waving his arms and shouting for the operator to shut off his machine. Finally the operator, though confused, saw his boss and shut down his machine immediately.

The upper half of a human skeleton dangled from the teeth on the business end of that great yellow machine. Some of the hardier workers stood at the edge of the pit and peered down into the fresh gouge to see the two other partially exposed skeletons in the gouge just behind the machine.

After a moment Elliot Burch ordered all of the other machines on site shut down and had everyone move back away from the pit. He sent the machine operator and everyone that had witnessed the moment when the skeletons had been uncovered to the foreman's trailer. Everyone else he told to punch out and go home. He then made three quick calls. The first one was to the District Attorney's office to inform ADA Catherine Chandler of the grisly discovery. The second one was to the police to make an official report. The third one was to his project accountant to find out how much this delay was likely to cost him and find out how long he could afford to keep his crew on half pay furlough.

~ o ~

FBI Special Agent Seeley Joseph Booth glared at the source of his irritation which continued to be totally unaffected by said glare. He had vague memories of having done this kind of thing before yet he had no idea how to do it. The details of how to perform this type of repair were gone. Like his supposed hatred of clowns, his memory of how to do simple plumbing repairs had been erased from his mind by the benign tumor the doctors had removed from his brain eight weeks ago.

He knew that with a little bit of thought he could figure it out. He had done it with other things he had forgotten but he shouldn't have to relearn things that had once been second nature to him. The whole situation was so frustrating. He had lately often found himself doubting his own mind, wondering if he was even the same person he had once been. "I'm not even sure I know who I am anymore." He mumbled dispiritedly as he tossed aside what, he had decided, must be the wrong tool.

The sound of his cell phone jerked his mind back from the precipice of self pity he was teetering on. He whipped it out and glanced at the caller ID, it was the office, then he answered. "Special Agent Seeley Booth." . . . After listening for a few moments, he responded with a curt "Yes, Sir."

He disconnected then made an outgoing call to Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan.

"Bones, get packed. We're going to New York for a few days." . . .

"Three very old skeletons were found buried at a construction site in Upper Manhattan just north of Central Park." . . .

"They're not that old. This looks more criminal than archeological." . . .

"I'll pick you up in about an hour."

With one last annoyed glare at the troublesome water pipes, Booth headed into his bedroom to pack for the trip.

~ o ~

As Booth and Brennan entered the departure lounge they both spotted Avalon Harmonia. She was sitting at a table near the edge of the lounge with her ever present set of tarot cards. There She flipped over a card then looked up at Booth and Brennan in surprise. She motioned for them to come over and sit with her. Reluctantly Booth followed Brennan over to join Avalon. There was something about the uncanny predictions of the so called psychic that unnerved both of them.

As they approached Avalon remarked. "I'm on my way to visit my cousin in Albany." She grinned. "I knew you were going to ask." While they sat down she flipped over another card then looked up at them. "You are going on a journey of discovery that will challenge both of your perceptions of reality."

She held the deck out toward Booth. "Cut the deck." With a nervous shrug Booth complied. Avalon then took two cards off the top and flipped them over then began to speak. "Things go much deeper than you know and not everything is what it seems but you can trust your perceptions and you can trust Bones."

She next silently held the deck out to Brennan. After rolling her eyes Brennan cut the deck: Avalon again flipped two cards from the top then addressed Brennan. "Watch over him. You are his anchor to reality and he when he doubts his senses your truth will bring him back from the brink."

After a few seconds of uneasy silence Brennan opened her mouth to dispute the likely hood of her predictions, they were interrupted by the boarding announcement.

Avalon swept up the cards, placing them back in the deck in a well practiced maneuver then stood up. "Gotta go. It was nice seeing you again." Then headed toward the jetway

After a few bemused moments Booth and Brennan also headed for the Jetway.

~ o ~

Brennan and Booth were met at the New York Terminal by a man in a chauffeur's uniform. He retrieved their luggage and escorted them out to a very high class limousine. After a moment to admire such a fine automobile, Seeley turned to Temperance. "Is this your doing, Bones?"

Temperance shook her head. "I assure you, I did not have anything to do with this, Booth."

The chauffeur responded. "This limousine and my services are yours for the length of your time here, compliments of Mister Elliot Burch."

"Who is Elliot Burch?" Inquired Temperance.

Seeley and the chauffeur both looked at Temperance with a hint of surprise. It was the chauffeur that answered. "It was at the site of Mister Burch's latest construction project that the three skeletons were found."

"And where can we find Mister Burch?" Seeley inquired.

"I left him at the construction site, Sir."

Temperance spoke with authority. "Then I suggest we go straight there." She climbed into the limousine followed by Booth.

Booth glanced over at Brennan who was at that moment looking out the window. He felt a rush of love for her but he ruthlessly suppressed those feelings. He couldn't forget what Sweets had said about his feelings being a result of his recent brain surgery and would probably fade away in a couple of weeks. The thing was, he didn't really want it to fade away. With a sigh he forced his mind back to the case at hand.

~ o ~

A short time later Booth and Brennan arrived at the construction site. Seeley identified himself to the New York Cop that was guarding the gate to the site. The officer waved them through. A second uniformed cop pointed to a small knot of people that were standing at the edge of the pit near a large yellow earthmover. Booth and Brennan could both clearly see the partial skeleton dangling from the earthmover's scoop.

Booth and Brennan walked over to the group where Booth identified himself and Dr. Brennan.

The well dressed man responded to Booth. "My name is Elliot Burch. This site is my latest project." He then pointed out each person as he identified them. "This is Detective Henderson, New York Homicide. . . . Detective Hughes, missing persons . . . Joe Maxwell and Catherine Chandler, Manhattan District Attorney's Office."

At that point a distinguished looking middle aged man with graying hair and dressed in a suit similar to Seeley walked up to the group and addressed Booth. "You must be Agent Seeley Booth. I'm James McClendon from the New York FBI office. I'll be your local liaison during this investigation." He reached out to shake hands.

Booth took his hand and responded. "Glad to meet you. I believe I've heard of you." They both released hands. "You were involved in that big corruption case and that UN spy ring case in the early nineties."

James nodded. "That was a long time ago. I'm mostly administrative now. I don't normally go out to the field, however there may be a connection between that old corruption case and what happened here."

"How is that?" Booth inquired.

Agent McClendon waved his hand in a semicircle indicating the whole construction site. "The man that was at the center of that corruption had his headquarters on this site and before that it was owned by his father, who was just as corrupt and evil as his son."

"How many people have been down there?" Asked Booth, indicating the pit.

It was Elliot Burch who answered. "Only myself and the Bulldozer operator have been down there since he started his run on the next layer. I kept everyone else away from the pit until the police arrived."

Brennan turned away from the group, descended the ramp into the pit, and approached the business end of the earthmover. Booth followed her down examining the ground as he went. She tilted her head and her brows drew together in concentration as she visually scanned the skeleton. The others in the group shifted their attention to Brennan. After a couple of seconds she spoke. "Female . . . Caucasian approximatelyyyy . . . sixteen or seventeen years old . . ." She walked to the rear of the machine and glanced over at the other partially exposed skeletons then continued. "Based on the amount of decomposition, I would estimate that these bodies have been here more than a decade."

After another second she knelt down and glancing under the machine, spotting the other half of the bisected skeleton. To everyone's surprise she crawled halfway under the machine and started examining it. She carefully brushed some of the broken ground away from the partially exposed pelvic bone looked a bit closer then reacted. "Oh . . ."

Booth looked up from his notes at her soft exclamation. "What?"

Brennan wiggled out from under the machine and looked up at Booth. "Based on the shifting of the bone around the pubic region, this girl died within an hour of giving birth."

This pronouncement drew soft gasps from everyone that had heard it. There were also a few "Oh, my god!"s.

Brennan turned and approached the other two partially exposed skeletons and quickly examined the nearest one. "Female Caucasian approximately eighteen years old . . ." She looked closer. "This girl also died within an hour of giving birth." Shaking her head, totally unaware of the shocked looks on the faces of those around her, she immediately shifted to the third skeleton and after another quick examination looked up at Booth. "Female Caucasian approximately seventeen years old . . . also died within an hour of giving birth, just like the other two." She stood up talking rapidly. "I want the remains and the surrounding soil sent to the . . ."

She was interrupted by a voice not more than ten feet away. "I think I may have another body over here." They all looked over to see Elliot Burch standing at the edge of the trench and pointing at a spot twelve feet away from Brennan and Booth.

What looked at first like a round rock embedded in the ground had apparently drawn his attention. Brennan walked over and looked down at the object. She immediately noticed the lines where the sections of a skull grow together. Brennan carefully worked at the hard dirt around the skull until it was loose enough for her to lift it out of the ground. She turned it over in her hands giving it a quick once over. "Caucasian . . . female . . . approximately fifteen or sixteen years old." She carefully placed the skull back in the depression it had come from.

Brennan stood up." She faced Booth. "That makes a total of four bodies in this small section. All four are teenage girls and we already know that three of them died within an hour of giving birth." A shiver went through her body. "I want to bring in the ground penetrating radar to sweep this whole area for any more bodies and we need a full crew in here by morning to excavate all the remains." She glanced at the big yellow earthmover. "And we need to get that thing out of the way." She looked over at the mound of excavated dirt over near the far edge of the construction site. We will also need to sift through that loose dirt as well." She looked back down at the other three skeletons. "Whoever did this was a very evil twisted person."

Only Brennan was close enough to hear Elliot mumble under his breath. "That describes Gabriel and Julian to a T."

A short distance away Booth had noticed the pained looks pass between James and the two people from the DA's office in response to Brennan's description of the three skeletons. He also had noticed some rather peculiar looks pass between Catherine Chandler and Elliot Burch at Brennan's evaluation of the person responsible.

Booth faced the small collection of police officers and raised his voice. "Alright, we have what looks like a serial killer. This entire construction site is now a crime scene."

"For some decade old murders?" The construction foreman exclaimed.

Booth faced the man that had, until now, been standing quietly in the background. "It wouldn't matter if these were six decades old. There is no statute of limitations on murder." Then he stepped off to the side and pulled out his cell-phone.

Elliot Burch laid a hand on the foreman's shoulder. "Don't worry, Hank. I'll make sure that your crew will be taken care of until this thing is settled."

~ o ~

That evening Booth and Brennan were sitting in a corner table at a diner near their hotel discussing the case. Booth was speaking. "Just how old do you think those bones really are?"

Brennan responded. "I can't be any more accurate that what I've already stated without closer examination and testing."

Booth sighed and Brennan looked more closely at him. "Something is bothering you. What is it?"

Booth looked down at the table mulling over her question for a second or two then looked up and responded. "I don't know for sure. There's something about this whole situation that bothers me." He pause a moment. "Why were two members of the New York District Attorney's Office even at the site? Who called them in and why?"

"Is that what is bothering you?" She inquired with a worried frown.

"Yes . . . No . . . I don't know." He blew out an exasperated breath. "There's something about the way they all kept looking at each other that bothered me but I don't know why. I feel like this hole in my head has dulled my instincts and I'm overlooking something important.

"I don't know if it will help but I overheard the names Gabriel and Julian mentioned." She looked him in the eye. "It might be something worth looking into."

~ o ~

On the rooftop garden of a very expensive brownstone across the street from Central Park another conversation was taking place between two very different individuals. Catherine Chandler stood looking out into the park. She was enclosed in an embrace by a large, powerful and fearsome creature that actually appeared to be a cross between a human and a lion. The arms gently wrapped around her ended in very deadly looking claws and when he spoke his fangs could be clearly seen.

Catherine sighed deeply. "Four skeletons. . ." She paused and shook her head. "Four young girls." She let her head fall back against the creature's massive chest.

The creature gently nuzzled his furry cheek against the side of her head. "There was always a possibility that others had fallen victim to Julian's evil."

"Maybe so but that doesn't make the discovery any less disturbing." She responded with another sigh. She turned in his arms to face the creature. "And what if the investigation somehow leads back to you or Jennifer?"

The creature shook his head. "How could it? That was over forty years ago and no records survived the fire that burned down Gabriel's estate."

Catherine shrugged her shoulders. "I know, Vincent, but I still worry."

The creature responded by hugging her reassuringly tight. "We will be alright." He remarked quietly. "And you know how resilient my mother is."

 ** _Continued in part 2_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

Chapter 2

Early the next morning Booth, Brennan and a group of New York police officers began sweeping the area with the Ground Penetrating Radar unit. A small tight group made up of Elliot Burch, District Attorney Joseph Maxwell, ADA Catherine Chandler, and FBI Agent James McClendon stood off to the side keenly observing the whole operation. Something about those four people continued to bother Booth but he couldn't put his finger on what that might be. He found his eye often drawn to those four when his attention wasn't focused on the next body to be uncovered. Every time a new body was uncovered there would be a spate of quietly intense conversation between them.

The one time he approached them during one of these discussions they immediately stopped talking and looked at him with an air of nervous expectation.

By noon they had uncovered a total of nine skeletons. Eight of the skeletons, Brennan had identified as teenage females. The ninth skeleton appeared to be that of a tiny malformed fetus. Brennan spotted marks on the wrist bones of the skeleton found with the fetus as being common in suicide cases. Specialized crews began packing the skeletons and soil samples for shipment.

Everyone became very interested when a twelve inch by ten inch by five inch, locked, metal box was found in the mound of loose earth at the back of the site. Inside the box they found ten empty folders. Seven of the folders were labeled 'SUBJECT' and the numbers '1', '2', '3', '5', '6', '7' and '8' across the top, and had a large red [FAILED] stamped on the front. Two more folders for subjects '4' and '9' had ' **Escaped** ' written with multiple dark underlines in a harsh angular script across the front. Booth noticed that those two folders were of particular interest to the four observers he had been watching. The folder for subject '10' had ' **Suicide** ' scrawled across it in the same angry style as the two that said 'Escaped'.

Just as they were about to pack up the radar unit Brennan stopped them. "I want to reexamine area J4 again." She explained. A few minutes later she pointed to the screen. "There. Those irregular smudges."

"The ground is full of smudges like that." The operator complained. "It's just variations in the soil density."

"I realize that." She responded. "But those seven smudges form a nearly straight line." She pointed to the spots that she had noticed. "I want to have an area about three feet in diameter carefully removed intact from those locations."

The rest of the afternoon was spent packing the seven anomalous sections for shipment to the Jeffersonian along with the nine skeletons..

~ o ~

Late in the afternoon in a conference room at the Jeffersonian, the rest of the 'squints' crew,as Booth often called them, were in a teleconference with Booth and Brennan back in New York. Doctor Brennan was speaking. "So far we have unearthed the skeletons of eight young females, all of which were between the age of 15 and 19 when they died. With one exception they were all killed within an hour of giving birth. There is also the skeleton of a malformed fetus found with the one that had not given birth. The fetus appears to have been in the seventh month of development when the mother killed herself" She frowned in annoyance. That infant skeleton bothered her a lot for several reasons.

"Oh my God!" Angela exclaimed in horror as she shifted closer to her husband, Jack Hodgkins.

Booth spoke next. "The nine skeletons have been shipped to the Jeffersonian and should arrive by tomorrow morning. I want a complete workup on them. I want to know who they were and how they ended up here and I want to know how each of them died. I'm particularly interested in anything you find out about the fetus. Hodgkins, each of the skeletons is accompanied by the soil where they were found. We need everything that you can learn from those samples. There are also seven other containers of soil being sent to you. Bones wants you to look for anything unusual in the makeup of those seven samples." Booth paused and glanced up past the camera, nodded, then continued. "Angela, I need those identifications as soon as possible."

~ o ~

That evening Booth and Brennan were again sitting in a corner table at the diner near their hotel discussing the case. Brennan was speaking. "There doesn't seem to be much left for us to do here. According to Joe Maxwell and Cathy Chandler, the primary suspect died forty years ago. The only other possible lead was his son who died nineteen years ago. We can identify the cause of death but the most likely suspects are dead. The only thing left is to identify those girls and notify their families." She paused a moment. "I still can't get that unborn fetus out of my mind. I've never seen any type of birth defect like that before. There was something almost cat like about its skull. When I first saw it I thought it was some kind of hoax but when I examined it I could find no indications of tampering. Based on my initial examination, the skeleton appears to be complete and all of the bones fit together like they belonged." She shook her head, lost momentarily in her own thoughts. Something about the implications suggested by that infant skeleton offended her extremely rational mind

Booth was looking down at his plate and frowning as he spoke. "I don't think we're really done here yet. I'm sure there is something more going on here than what we're being told."

Brennan cocked her head at him curiously. "You still feel like there is something else going on?"

"It's mostly a gut feeling." He looked up at her. "I know you don't believe in irrational things like feelings and intuition." He took a deep breath and let it out. "And who knows how much having a chunk of my brain removed has affected my judgment . . ." His voice tailed off in self doubt.

Brennan shook her head. "Intuition is a myth. Buuut . . . the unconscious mind sometimes notices things that the conscious mind misses and the conclusions are produced by the conscious mind are misinterpreted as intuition." She placed her hand over his to still its nervous movement. "I don't believe in intuition but I believe in you. You still have the ability to see things in other people that the rest of us miss and that operation did not affect that part of who you are." She released his hand. "So what is it that you have noticed?"

Booth paused in thought then began to speak slowly with deliberation. "It's hard to pin down but there was something about the looks being exchanged between Chandler, Burch, Maxwell and Agent McClendon . . . there was definitely something going on there. I would say that they know more than what they've told us. I can't forget the look on Miss Chandler's face when they found the infant. I would swear that I saw a look of recognition flicker across her face." He paused a moment in thought then he looked back at Brennan with renewed conviction in his gaze. "There is something else going on here and I intend to find out what it is."

~ o ~

On the rooftop garden of their brownstone Catherine rested her head against the frightening creature's very solid safe chest and spoke softly. "Oh, Vincent, it was horrible . . . Those poor girls . . . There were so many of them." A moment after she said those words Vincent's head dropped and she felt a deep sadness settle over him. She laid her hand on his forearm. "What is it Vincent, what's wrong?"

Vincent looked up at her, a pensive frown covered his face. "All those young innocent lives lost." He shook his head. "I'm alive because those girls died." He sighed. "It just doesn't seem right." He turned his face away from her.

Catherine shook her head as her voice took on the determined tone she used when making a point in court. "You were not responsible for those girls' deaths, Julian was!" She touched the side of his face and forced him to look at her. "Every life is precious regardless of the circumstances of its origins. We know that at least two of the children currently living in the tunnels are the result of rape and then were abandoned. Do you hold them guilty of the way they came into existence?"

Vincent shook his head. "No, they are blameless."

She smiled gently in victory. "Then you should use that same judgment in regard to your own situation."

Vincent nodded, conceding the point. He never could win against her highly trained courtroom skills. He gently stroked her back with one clawed furry hand as he paused in thought then decided on a slight change of subject. "You said that there were two folders marked 'Escaped'?"

Catherine nodded. "Yes, the ones marked 'Subject 4' and 'Subject 9'." She looked up at his face. "I wonder which one was Jennifer?"

Vincent shook his head. "I don't know if there is any way to tell." He became lost in thought for several seconds then he spoke. "There were two escapes. That means there could be another like me out there." His attention returned to Catherine. "Remember that unusual looking man we saw at the Renaissance Faire four years ago? I'm half convinced that what we saw may have been his true appearance."

She frowned up at him as she considered his remark.. "The other escapee?" She pulled back her head to see his face better. "Do you think it really could be him?"

Vincent shook his head. "I don't know. It does seem pretty far fetched . . ." He shrugged, giving her a slight smile.. "But then again . . . look at me."

Catherine nodded. "You have a point." She looked out at the park for a moment. "Should we tell your mother?"

"This will become a major news story by tomorrow. She will find out." Vincent turned to look out over the park. "She once told me that she thought she saw evidence that she was not the only one to fall victim to Julian's evil." He tightened his embrace. "She has always believed there must have been others."

Catherine heaved a great sigh. "For your sake and for the sake of that other one that might be out there I have to get this case closed quickly so that those two from Washington will go back where they came from." She shook her head, frowning. "My biggest fear is that the investigation might somehow lead them to your mother or to you."

Vincent responded. "I'm sure you will manage." He took her shoulders and turned her to face him. "But for now I would rather think about us." He again enfolded her in his arms. "Let tomorrow take care of itself." He turned and led her back into their home.

~ o ~

The next evening, eight skeletons were laid out at the Jeffersonian forensics lab. The tiny ninth skeleton was set aside for later study. Doctor Camille Saroyan, Cam to her friends, was speaking to the computer image of Booth and Brennan. "All eight girls died somewhere between 1950 and 1956. That is the best we can do after this much time. Doctor Clark found some indications that some of the girls had been restrained, possibly for months, before they died."

Booth inquired. "Have you identified a cause of death yet?"

Cam responded. "We managed to get decent samples of bone marrow from all of the victims. Seven of the girls were killed by massive doses of morphine." Her grim expression became even grimmer. "We're talking serious overkill here. The marrow samples contained five times the normal lethal level."

"You said seven of the girls?" Brennan inquired.

"Ah yes, you caught that." Cam nodded. "One of the girls showed no sign of morphine."

Booth spoke next. "Do we have any indication how she died?"

Cam nodded and continued. "We found nicks in the radius and ulna at both wrists. The damage appeared to have been made with a standard table knife. Based on the angle, they appear to be self inflicted." Cam swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. "It looks like she committed suicide."

"I noticed those marks when I first examined that one." Brennan remarked. "It was the one found with the unborn baby."

"What?" Booth exclaimed.

Cam continued. "That girl was still pregnant when she died. We were able to get usable DNA from the marrow of all the bodies. That fetus skeleton you found near her was definitely her child. The development of the fetus places it at about 30 weeks when the mother died. The fetus DNA shows significant genetic mutations which probably accounts for the malformations in the infant's skull and phalanges."

Angela spoke up at this point. "Some maniac held these pregnant girls captive, messed around with the fetuses DNA, then killed those poor girls right after they gave birth." She shivered. "And I thought Howard Epps was evil."

"Have you managed to identify any of the victims?" Agent Booth asked.

Angela responded. "I've done facial reconstructions of the eight girls." She hit a couple of keys and eight young female faces appeared on the screen. "So far we've found three matches in old missing person reports." Names appeared under three of the pictures. "I also did a reconstruction of the fetus." She pressed a few more keys and the image of an infant appeared. The image looked almost like a cross between a human and a cat. The face had a distinctly feline appearance and it had claws where the fingernails should be. Angela's expression radiated uncertainty. "I know how ridiculous this looks but every reconstruction algorithm I have tried comes back with essentially the same thing. This is what that infant would probably have looked like if it had lived."

"That doesn't make sense." Brennan remarked. "It defies the rules of genetics."

"Nothing about that fetus makes sense." Hodgins responded. "I keep expecting to hear Rod Serling doing a 'Twilight Zone' monologue in the background. Maybe this is all part of some secret government experiment."

Brennan shook her head. "This is the real world and there will be a logical explanation."

Despite Doctor Brennan's dogmatic insistence on a rational explanation, Booth could hear a hint of doubt creep into her voice. There were aspects about this case and that peculiar infant skeleton that had challenged their certainties right from the start.

"What about those other seven soil samples I sent you?" Brennan asked.

Jack Hodgins responded. "I analyzed each of the samples and they all contained a concentrated area of ash. The ash was composed of the same elements found in cremated human remains. The volume of the ash in each sample was consistent with that of a new born child."

"Doctor Hodgins, are you certain of that?" Booth inquired.

Hodgins shook his head sadly. "There is no question. Those are the cremated remains of new born infants."

~ o ~

That evening after the teleconference Booth and Brennan went out to dinner at a popular Italian Restaurant that Hodgins had recommended to them. Though Brennan tried to keep the conversation light Booth had a hard time keeping his mind on what was being said. He kept mulling over the day's very strange events. His mind kept returning to the ones he had begun to think of as 'the four conspirators'.

Noticing his distracted state Brennan made some nonsensical comment about canaries being used as artificial bones in vasectomies. Seeing his total lack of reaction to her comment, she reached out and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. "What is it Seeley? You haven't heard anything I've said in the last ten minutes."

After a pause to regroup his thoughts Booth responded. "All day Chandler has been actively pushing to have the entire case closed quickly. Early this afternoon I ran a basic background check on her. There are a lot of inconsistencies and other oddities throughout the last twenty or so years of her life." One thing Booth was certain of was that ADA Catherine Chandler knew a lot more than she was telling. He decided that, beginning tomorrow morning, he would start taking a closer look at Miss Chandler.

"What do you think it means?" She asked. "What does it have to do with this case?"

"I don't know." He responded, shaking his head. "But I'm going to find out."

~ o ~

Catherine and Vincent sat in their well appointed parlor talking about her day at work. Catherine paused and looked toward the ceiling, in the general direction of their children's bedroom. Vincent followed the direction of her gaze then placed his arm around her, pulling her close. She turned her gaze toward him and the look in her eyes softened momentarily.

She frowned. "I'm afraid that my efforts to get this case closed quickly have backfired. I think my actions may have caused Agent Booth to become suspicious of me and now he has intensified his investigation." She again glanced upward. "I hope I haven't put our family in danger."

"I believe we are safe for the time being. All he will find is the same dead ends that you have already encountered whenever you went searching for answers." Vincent responded. "Even if he does stumble across something that you have missed I doubt that it could lead to us." He gently caressed her cheek. "If some how things do get too dangerous, we can always disappear 'Below'.

Catherine leaned her face into his hand. "I hope it doesn't come to that." She mused allowed. "I've become very fond of our current life together. I really don't want to uproot our whole family like that." She paused looking at Vincent's leonine features. "But I will do it, if necessary, to protect you and our two sons."

 ** _Continued in part 3_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

Chapter 3

That morning Booth and Brennan received an e-mail from Angela. Seven of the eight dead females had been identified. She had been unable to find any hint of who the eighth girl could have been. Three of the girls were from New York. The other four came from four different neighboring states.

Booth was surprised to find that the last known home address of a girl named Cindy Wilson was only five streets over from his own current address.

The only common thread seemed to be that they were all runaways and there had apparently been no one really interested in finding them.

Booth dutifully forwarded the information along with the preliminary forensics findings on all eight girls to Detective Hughes of missing persons. Detective Hughes forwarded the information to the people who would be responsible for locating the next of kin and notifying them. He also forwarded them to Detective Henderson who forwarded the files to Catherine at the DA's office.

Detective Henderson next informed Elliot Burch that the cases were being closed and that he would be releasing the crime scene tomorrow afternoon. By the following morning Burch would be able to resume construction on the site.

Brennan was busy finishing up the New York part of her investigation. She was anxious to return to the Jeffersonian and get a closer look at those nine skeletons. She had an intense desire to find out what really happened to those eight girls.

~ o ~

By noon Booth was up to his eyeballs in his investigation of Catherine Chandler. He had already found out that Catherine Chandler had three natural daughters and one adopted daughter. This surprised him since she was not married. She had often been fodder for society gossip columnists up until she had disappeared for ten days back in '89. Then she had showed up with her face all sliced up and stitched back together and no memory of what had happened to her. She dropped out of the public eye, had some serious plastic surgery done, and finally went to work for the DA's office. Since then she had developed a reputation for accomplishing the impossible, whether it was bringing down the powerful and corrupt or getting into and out of very dangerous situations.

Booth spent most of the day digging into the backgrounds of Catherine Chandler, Joe Maxwell, James McClendon and Elliot Burch. He was searching for some way to explain the gut feeling that he had about those four people. He had started with Catherine Chandler but when he had gotten less than satisfactory answers from Agent McClendon to his inquiries about her he had started looking into connections between the two of them.

Booth quickly found that there were several incidents that connected the four of them. He was certain that Miss Chandler was the key that connected all four of them and the murdered girls found at the construction site so he concentrated his research on her paying particular attention where her activities included interactions with the other three.

In the end he was getting tired of constantly hitting a brick wall. He had found plenty of evidence of connections between Miss Candler and the others though there still appeared to be several unexplained incidents scattered throughout her records. But how this all related to the construction site case was as much a frustrating mystery as ever.

~ o ~

Later that afternoon when Booth found out that the investigation was being closed. He went to Agent McClendon's office and objected. "It's just too soon to close this case." He insisted. "There are still too many questions that haven't been adequately answered."

James looked at Booth curiously. "I don't understand your reasoning for keeping this case open. There's no point." He began listing the reasons to close the case. "There's nothing left at the site but dirt. All but one of the victims has been identified and your people at the Jeffersonian are working on that. The cause of death has been firmly established as morphine poisoning. The only known suspect, some reclusive nut job called Julian, is long dead. What else is there?"

Booth was unable to supply an adequate answer beyond a 'gut feeling'. "What about motive?" Booth insisted. "We still don't know why those girls were killed."

With the victims and the only suspect all dead, very little information available on the suspect, and no other records found, I don't see how you expect to find out what motive there could be, assuming there is more to his reasoning than simple insanity." Agent McClendon insisted.

"There are also those two folders labeled 'Escaped'. That means that there could still be two living victims out there that could tell us what really happened. If we could locate them . . ." Booth's voice trailed off at the closed look on Agent McClendon's face.

"It's been over forty years and no one has ever come forward. Even if they are still alive, What makes you think you can find them now?" McClendon's eyes turned softer and he continued with a hint of sympathy in his voice. "I know that you have been out on a medical leave of absence recently and you probably have a need to prove that you still have what it takes, but this case is just one large dead end. You're wasting your time."

That last comment hit too close to home and Booth dropped the subject. The last thing he wanted was to have his competence called into question, especially since he was already second guessing himself. Maybe Agent McClendon had a point about him trying too hard to prove himself but there was a stubborn streak deep inside that would not let him give up.

He decided to return to his hotel room to regroup and think about the state of the case. There must be some crucial piece of information that he was missing that would make everything that bothered him make sense.

~ o ~

A few hours later Agent McClendon sat at his desk brooding. He had done his best to get Agent Booth to drop the case but he doubted that he had been successful.

Using Booth's recent brain surgery against him had really bothered his conscience. He couldn't get the look that flashed across Booth's face when he had mentioned it out of his mind. He should never have brought it up.

With a sigh, he called Catherine. She needed to know what was going on.

~ o ~

That evening Booth was still wrestling with his doubts as he and Brennan were having dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Some of the things Agent McClendon had said at the end of their conversation still bothered him but he wasn't quite ready to give up just yet.

"I'm going to make reservations for us on tomorrow mornings flight." Brennan asserted. "I need to have a closer look at those bones. There are still some questions that need to be answered."

"I think I'm going to stay here for a few more days." Booth remarked to her with a frown.

"Why?" She asked, noticing the troubled look in Booth's eyes.

"There's still something about this whole thing that bothers me." He responded with a half shrug.

Brennan looked closer at Booth, a hint of concern flickered across her face. "What more is there? Cause of death has been established and all but one of the girls has been identified. There's nothing left to discover here." She cocked her head, looking closely at him. "Any further questions will be answered back at the lab."

Booth ruthlessly suppressed the doubt that sprang up at Brennan's echoing of Agent McClendon's words. "I know everyone thinks that I've gone off my rocker because of this hole in my head but I know that there's something more going on here. Miss Chandler and Agent McClendon are too anxious to shut this case down and get rid of us." He gazed into her eyes searching for some small hint that she still believed in him. "You yourself heard them mention the name Julian That first day before the investigation had even begun."

Brennan gazed back for a moment, seeing the hint of entreaty in his face, then sighed. "Alright. If you are that sure of your assessment then I will stay as well."

Booth shook his head. If he was wrong, he didn't want Brennan to be dragged down with him. "This is my problem and if Agent McClendon is in on it then things could get messy. You want to get back to your bones and I don't want you dragged into this if it should blow-up in my face."

Brennan thought that it didn't matter whether Booth was really onto something or if his judgment was being affected by his damaged brain, she had to be there for him. Whether it was to boost his shaky confidence or to pick up the pieces if it ended badly, she couldn't abandon him. Brennan took his hand and said what she knew that he needed to hear, putting as much conviction into her voice as possible. "We are partners and I believe in you. If you say that there is something more here then I will follow your lead."

~ o ~

That evening Catherine and Vincent once again stood together on their roof top garden discussing the situation.

"I don't think that Agent Booth is going to drop his investigation." Catherine complained with a worried frown. "He spent most of the day digging through old records from the 50's. He also has pulled all of the records about the Gabriel case." She let out a huge sigh. "And James tells me that Booth has been asking a lot of questions about me. He tried to discourage him but he told me that Agent Booth is one of the best and can be relentless when involved in a case."

"I still don't think there is anything for you to worry about yet. All Agent Booth will find are musty old records from before you were born." Vincent explained. "All they have is a bunch of forty-five year old missing person's cases and ten empty folders. Just another old unsolved mystery." Vincent took her hand. "There is simply nothing there that could lead to either of us." He pulled her into his embrace.

"What about my involvement in the Gabriel corruption case?" She complained. "James says that Booth has also been digging into the some of my old case files and occasionally asking unusual questions about me. That Gabriel case in particular is full of unexplained holes."

"That may draw his interest but you told me that there is nothing solid there to work with." Vincent countered.

"I hope you're right about that." She responded as she burrowed deeper into his embrace, seeking the comfort that he was always able to provide.

~ o ~

The next morning Brennan and Booth were on another video conference with their coworkers at the Jeffersonian.

Angela was reporting on their progress. "I've run the eighth girl's description through every missing persons database I can find without luck. We have sent the description and my computer recreation of her face to the national runaway networks but I don't think it will do much good. A majority of the cases from that long ago were never entered into any database. If we do get an answer it will be by pure dumb luck."

Booth shook his head. "The families the seven identified girls will be notified later this morning. The unidentified girls file will be relegated to the cold case files along with the thousands of other unsolved cases and her bones will end up in limbo. After that the case here in New York will be closed." He admitted reluctantly.

Angela shook her head. "We won't forget."

Cam jumped in at this point. "We're having a background analysis done on the eighth girl's DNA. A week from now we will know everything there is to know about her ethnic and familial background. There is always a chance that we will get a familial match from that. If we can locate a family then we have a chance of finding someone that recognizes Angela's rendition of her probable appearance." She shrugged. "It's a longshot but it's the best we can do."

~ o ~

Catherine entered Joe Maxwell's office. He looked up. "Close the door." He instructed. "Have a seat."

She did as instructed. "What's up, Joe" She inquired.

"We received these documents this morning." He responded as he handed a folder over to her.

Inside were copies of seven missing persons reports along with seven certificates of death. There were also copies of old faded black and white photos and computer generated images that were pretty close matches to the pictures. Each of the seven case files was marked CLOSED. Finally there was a computer image with only a death certificate attached and identified as Jane Doe #5693750.

Joe waited until Catherine had gone through the file. "Well that is it. The case is being closed and the families of those seven girls are being notified this morning." He sighed. "It's over."

Catherine looked up at Joe, a look of guarded relief in her eyes. "Is it really over Joe?" She paused glancing at the files in her hands. "I got the feeling that Agent Booth wasn't going to give up that easily." She looked down at the files in her hands. "And there's still this last girl that they couldn't identify."

"The case is closed and Henderson tells me that Agent Seeley Booth and Doctor Temperance Brennan both have reservations for the flight back to Washington this afternoon." Joe assured her then he glanced speculatively at the files in her hands. "Do you think there is any chance that your friends might be able find out who that eighth girl was?"

"That idea never occurred to me. . . All of the other girls, that were identified, were runaways . . . and we know that Jennifer was a runaway . . ." Catherine thought about it for a few seconds before continuing. "I could ask some of the older people." A hint of determination grew in her eyes. "If this girl was living on the streets for any length of time there is a slight chance that one of them might have encountered her." She paused again in thought. "But even if by some stroke of luck someone remembers her, that doesn't mean that we will be able to identify her." She shrugged. But it can't hurt to try."

~ o ~

As the plane bound for Washington DC rose into the afternoon sky, two figures stood in the airport parking lot and watched it rise into the sky and turn toward the south. Once it had disappeared into the distance. The two observers got into the late model sports car and headed out of the airport.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at a mid town hotel where they registered for the room that had been reserved just yesterday. They proceeded to settle in for the evening.

~ o ~

Catherine hung up the phone and smiled with relief. Elliot Burch had called earlier to report that his driver had dropped Booth and Brennan off at the airport and seen them enter the terminal. She had just finished speaking to Agent McClendon and he reported that records showed that Booth and Brennan had boarded the plane.

Now it was finally over. Vincent and her children were safe.

~ o ~

In the mid town hotel the woman turned to the man. "I'm still not so sure about this. You took an awful chance pulling that switch at the airport." She remarked then, with a sigh of relief, she continued. "Bu-ut it looks like we got away with it for now."

The man shook his head as he responded to her. "I had to. We had to convince everyone, including Agent McClendon, who could easily get access to the plane's passenger manifest, that we had really left. We also needed transportation that wouldn't be connected to us."

"It was a nice car Hodgkins loaned us." Brennan sighed. "I hope Angela and Hodgkins enjoyed their little trip."

"I think they did." Booth chuckled. "Next to his bugs and slime, he loves a good government conspiracy." He glanced at the clock beside the bed. "It's getting late. We can order room service; watch a movie then get to bed. Tomorrow morning we have an ADA to stake out." He picked up the room phone. "What do you want to eat?"

~ o ~

Catherine handed out copies of the computer generated image to the baker's dozen elderly people in her parlor. Five of them were dressed in layers of patched together clothing. One was dressed in a tailored suit. The other seven were dressed like normal middle class people.

She addressed the group. "All of you have been involved with the tunnel community since it began. I'm trying to identify the girl in that picture." Catherine paused as they looked at the pictures. "This girl was last seen in the 1950's. I'm hoping that one of you or one of your contacts on the streets may have encountered her." She paused. "Any information we can get on her may help to identify her."

 ** _Continued in part 4_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Booth and Brennan were up early the next morning. They dressed as casual tourists and staked out a spot in Central Park where they could sit in the car and keep an eye on Catherine Chandler's brownstone. Brennan was wearing a blond wig that she had purchased yesterday evening. Booth was in a Hawaiian shirt and yellow golf hat that he had bought at the same place.

"So what did you tell Cam?" Booth asked Brennan.

"I told her that I was taking a couple of days to get more background on the site where the bodies were found. And I told her not to tell anyone that I was still in New York." She responded in her normal straight forward manner. "What did you tell your boss at the FBI?"

"I told him that I was on my way back to DC but that I needed a couple of days off for personal reasons." Booth responded then frowned. "I think he suspects that I'm still dealing with some of the aftermath from my surgery." He shrugged. "I think he is still unsure of my fitness for duty."

"There is nothing wrong with you." She insisted. "You are still an excellent agent."

Booth didn't respond to her reassurances. He preferred not to express his own doubts. His mind went back to his talk with Doctor Sweets about the strong love he felt for Brennan being just a side effect of his brain surgery. And then there was the incident with the clown just a few days ago. All these things added up to him not being the same person he had been. He forced those thoughts back into the deepest recesses of his mind and gave Brennan an encouraging smile

~ o ~

As she got ready to leave for work, Catherine hugged her huge lion-man just a bit tighter than usual this morning. "I love you Vincent. I'll see you when I get home tonight." She turned to the three young girls. "You three have a good day in school." Finally she turned to the two young lion-boys that looked so much like miniature versions of Vincent. "And you two behave yourselves down in the tunnels today." She gave her unusual family another smile, realized that she was running a bit late, and hurried out of the brownstone.

As she drove in to the DA's office she failed to notice the late model sports car that stayed two cars behind her. When she reached the government building she hurried inside. She had a lot of work she needed to catch up on now that the construction site case was over.

Joe called out to her as she passed his office. She stopped in her tracks, reversed course, and entered his office.

"What's up Joe?" She inquired.

"I just heard that the case is closed and those two from DC have gone back home."

Catherine nodded as she responded. "Yea, Elliot and James both informed me about their departure, yesterday."

Joe took a deep breath and continued. "How are Jennifer and Vincent taking the news?"

Catherine thought a moment before replying. "Jennifer was mostly relieved that the whole thing is over and she didn't end up getting dragged into the investigation. She had always believed that there were other victims of Julian's madness besides herself. Although, she was sad to hear how high the victim count ended up being."

She paused a moment then continued. "Vincent is taking it a bit harder. It saddens him that so many young women and unborn babies died in this mad man's insane quest to create whatever it was that he was trying to create." She sighed. "It still bothers him that he lives only because all those others died."

Joe shook his head. "He is not responsible for what happened. That monster Julian is the only one responsible for those deaths. Regardless of what happened forty five years ago, Vincent is here now and, personally I'm glad that he is alive and my friend. You need to keep telling him that."

Catherine nodded. "I know. Jennifer and I have been telling him that exact same thing ever since this mess began."

"Well you tell him what I said as well." He made shooing motions. "Now get to work. You have a ton of briefs to get through today and an important deposition this afternoon."

"I, I, Captain Bligh." She gave him a quick salute and exited the office.

"None of your sass, Radcliff." He called after her retreating form. He smiled to himself. Like Catherine, he was glad that the case was now closed. He too had been worried that the investigation could lead to Jennifer McCormick and her most unique son, Vincent. It made him shudder to think of what could happen to Catherine and Vincent's children if Vincent's existence were to ever come to light.

~ o ~

While they watched the city government building from the bistro on the corner, Brennan and Booth were talking to Angela over Brennan's laptop. Angela was reporting on her computer search efforts. "I've tried every search algorithm that I know but there just isn't much out there to find. The information I've already sent you is all there is. I can't even find a last name for the guy. This Julian must have had his tentacles pretty deep into the city and state government to have been able to hide his tracks so well. His son Gabriel was even worse. There weren't any records at all of his existence until he died in that fire and his corrupt organization was exposed."

Hodgins spoke up at this point. "Catherine Chandler, Joseph Maxwell, James McClendon and a special investigator named Diana Bennett of something called 'Special Crimes Unit 210' were all deeply involved in that case. The corruption went all the way up to the state level." His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Information on this Special Crimes Unit 210 is very limited. I can't even find how many people are in it. The only reason I know that she is in it is because it appears in one of the reports from that incident. It smells like the tip of a large government conspiracy to me."

An image of Diana Bennett from an old newspaper report appeared on the screen.

Booth nodded. He had seen mention of Diana Bennett in several of the cases that Catherine had been involved with but there was very little information available about Unit 210. On the official records she appeared to be just a normal police detective except that she only worked on one case at a time and she was able to choose which cases she would work on. She also had a very high success rate on some very difficult cases.

Booth finally responded. "OK, let us know if you find out anything else." He disconnected then looked over at Brennan shaking his head. "Nothing but smoke and dead ends everywhere I turn on this case."

~ o ~

It was around noon and Catherine was rushing to finish the brief she was currently working on before lunch.

Catherine raised her head as she perceived movement from across her desk. She recognized the elderly woman and her middle aged companion and her frown of curiosity morphed into a happy smile. "Jennifer, Diana!" She exclaimed. "What brings you to my part of town?"

Jennifer, the elderly woman, responded. "Diana and I were free and doing some shopping. We were both getting hungry when we realized how close we were to your office." She shrugged. "So we decided to stop by and see if you could have lunch with us."

Catherine looked at the clock then at the paper on her desk. "Just give me ten minutes to finish this up and I'll come with you."

Twelve minutes later Catherine handed the finished brief to Joe and informed him that she was going to lunch. Then the three women headed out of the building.

~ o ~

Brennan looked up in surprise and Booth followed her gaze to see Catherine and two other women heading toward the bistro. Both lowered their heads trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as the three women walked past them and took seats at the table behind them. Booth and Brennan both recognized Diana Bennett but the older woman was unknown to them. They looked at each other with a 'now-what' look then Brennan shrugged.

Booth and Brennan tried to remain inconspicuous while Brennan initiated a connection with the Jeffersonin. She set her laptop to mute and typed instead. She swiveled the computer so that its camera picked up the three women at the table behind her. Booth then typed in a request that they try to come up with an identification of the older woman. After Angela acknowledged the request Brennan shut off her laptop. The two of them resumed their attempt to inconspicuously eavesdrop on the table behind them.

Soon the three women were deep into typical small talk peppered with occasional gossip which died down a bit when their food arrived

About halfway through lunch a minor commotion arose when a young street urchin sprinted into the bistro deftly avoiding the waiter that tried to grab him. The raggedly dressed kid handed Catherine a folded scrap of paper, flashed her a very cheeky grin, then grabbed a hand full of French fries from Catherine's plate and ran back out, again avoiding the waiter's grasp.

Catherine opened the piece of paper and frowned as she read it.

"What is it Cathy?" Inquired Diana.

Catherine responded. "We may finally have a clue to the identity of the eighth body." She handed the paper to Diana. "It turns out that the computer drawing of the unidentified girl looks a lot like a young girl that was only around for a couple of weeks. She was called rose because of the rose tattoo on the back of her right shoulder. The person who recognized her reported that Rose often could be heard singing one particular song when she was occupied by some manual task. The message includes a couple of short phases remembered from the song."

"Will that be enough information to identify her?" Inquired Jennifer.

Diana replied. "It's too soon to tell but with this information there is a much better chance that I can find out who she was." She studied the words on the paper for a few moments. "Mmmmm . . . this seems vaguely familiar but I don't really recognize the song."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other curiously. "Now how in the world did Chandler find the source for that information?" Booth asked quietly. "I thought that I had exhausted every possible avenue for information."

The topic of the three women's conversation soon drifted on to the subject of a Renaissance Faire that they had all attended about a month ago.

The rest of the lunch was uneventful and when the three women left the restaurant, Booth and Brennan were left with more questions and no new answers, except for the few tidbits they had overheard about the eighth dead girl.

~ o ~

As soon as Catherine arrived home that evening she stepped into Vincent's waiting arms. "How was your day?" He inquired.

"Verrrrry busy." Catherine replied. "We got a possible break in the identification of that eighth girl."

Vincent nodded. "I heard. Mother told me all about it after she and Diana got back from their shopping trip." He cocked his head. "Are you two still planning to hold that little ceremony at the construction site tonight?"

Catherine nodded. "Someone needs to remember those girls. Who beter that someone who went through the same things that they did?"

Vincent tightened his embrace. "I understand how you feel." He held her out at arm's length. "Just please be careful."

"I will." Catherine responded.

"I will meet you there after I drop some things for the tunnel children with Father tonight." Vincent remarked as he released Catherine and they turned toward their children; who had been impatiently awaiting their chance to greet their mother.

~ o ~

It was very late at night and there was only one single spotlight on at the empty construction site. It illuminated the area where the nine skeletons had been found and the yellow police tape that surrounded the area. Catherine's lone figure stood quietly in that pool of light at the edge of the pit and gazed quietly down into it.

From their hidden vantage point about a hundred feet away Booth and Brennan watched Catherine. They had been preparing to end their surveillance of Catherine Chandler for the night when they saw her leave the brownstone. They had followed her here to the deserted construction site. Booth was using the binoculars to get a better look at Catherine's pensive expression.

"What is she doing just standing there?" Booth wondered, barely above a whisper.

"I don't know." Brennan replied just as quietly. "There's nothing left for her at that site."

"I'm positive that she is somehow deeply involved with this case but I just don't see how. Whatever happened here, happened before she was born." Booth shrugged.

Brennan looked over at Booth as a new idea occurred to her. "Could her mother be one of the two escapees?"

Booth looked back at her and shook his head. "No. I considered that when it became obvious to me how important this case was to her so I did some checking. Her mother had never gone missing and she was much older than those other girls when Miss Chandler was born . . . in Saint Vincent's Hospital. I checked the hospital records to verify that."

Brennan nodded as she turned her attention back to the construction site. "I . . ." She grabbed his shoulder. "Something is happening."

Booth turned his attention back to the construction site. He saw three barely visible dark figures crossing the ground toward the light. He trained the binoculars on the three newcomers as they entered the pool of light. He recognized the two women that Catherine had been to lunch with. The third person was a male that appeared to be about the same age as Catherine and the redheaded detective. "What are they doing here?" He inquired mostly to himself. He quickly picked up the long-range listening device that Hodgins had thoughtfully left in the car for them along with several other interesting spy devices. Booth and Brennan each took one of the earpieces so that they could both listen in.

~ o ~

"Diana, Dennis, I didn't know that you would be here." Catherine exclaimed.

Dennis put his arm around Jennifer's shoulder and responded. "This is a very emotional thing for Mother. There's no way Diana and I could not be here to support her." He gave her shoulder one gentle squeeze then set the briefcase he was carrying on the ground and opened it. Inside were several tea candles in white glass holders and a lighter.

Catherine liked at Dennis curiously. "Candles?"

Dennis smiled. "Mother is Catholic and we are all part of the tunnels to some extent. You know how much ceremony and candles means to those from the tunnels." He shrugged. "It just seemed appropriate."

~ o ~

Booth glanced over at Brennan and whispered. "What is 'The Tunnels'?"

Brennan looked back at him and shrugged, shaking her head. "It makes no sense."

They both turned their attention back to the edge of the excavation, their curiosity peaked even more.

~ o ~

Vincent quietly slipped over the fence into the darkened construction site. His dark hooded cloak effectively hid him within the deep shadows. Booth and Brennan hadn't even noticed him until seconds later when he stepped into the pool of light beside the others. In his hands were eight fiesta roses that he had had purchased from one of the helpers that owned a local flower shop. They were red in the center shifting through orange to yellow on the petal tips. These particular colors had always symbolized a happy life to Vincent. He also carried two pure white roses.

After a moment of quiet contemplation of the dark pit, he nodded to the others. Catherine reached into the messenger bag she was carrying and pulled out copies of the computer renderings of the eight murdered girls.

Catherine handed the first sheet to Jennifer. Dennis picked up two of the candles and lit them. Jennifer glanced at the printing at the bottom of the page then spoke softly but clearly. "For Cindy Wilson and her child, whose name is unknown except to her and God." Using the walking cane he had brought to stabilize her, She had twisted her knee two days ago and it was still bothering her, Jennifer knelt to set the page on the ground near the edge of the pit Dennis set the two lit candles onto the picture to hold it down. Vincent then kneeled and placed one of the fiesta roses across the page. Once they were again standing they all bowed their heads. Jennifer crossed herself and said a short prayer for the two departed souls.

After a moment of silence Catherine handed Jennifer another page while Dennis picked up two more candles and they began the short procedure for another of the girls that had been buried here.

From their vantage point Booth and Brennan could both feel a lump in their throats as the little ceremony continued.

Finally the unusual group came to the eighth girl. Jennifer altered the words slightly for this one. "For Rose', real name unknown, and her child, name also unknown except to her and God."

After another moment of silence Vincent began to speak. "For the two that managed to escape." He set one of the white roses down beside the others. "I know not who you are but I hope that life has been kind to you and that you are happy." He then he turned to Jennifer and handed her the other white rose. "I want to say how glad I am that you also escaped and survived. I want to thank you for giving me life and for caring about me despite the terrible circumstances surrounding how I came to be." He then leaned in and gave Jennifer a quick kiss on the cheek.

 ** _Continued in part 5_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


	5. Chapter 5

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

From their hidden vantage point Booth and Brennan both gasped softly at the significance of the cloaked figures words as they hit home. Booth felt his interest and excitement increase dramatically as he realized that this was the connection he had been looking for. Based on the words of that cloaked figure, that woman was one of the two that had escaped. She was a bonafide living witness that may have answers to what really happened here so long ago. It also appeared that the cloaked man (his voice had a very masculine timbre to it) must be the only child to survive whatever evil had been perpetrated on those innocent victims.

Brennan was having very similar thoughts. She began to speak very softly to herself. "If the cloaked person is the child of that woman, he is the only surviving result of whatever experiment that evil man had been engaged in." She paused in thought then continued, her voice taking on a very sad tone. "I wonder what kind of terrible birth defects that cloak must hide."

Though spoken very softly, Booth had heard her words and glanced over at her in surprise. Leaning close to Brennan, he commented quietly. "This case keeps getting more twisted with each new discovery." Then he frowned as he spoke softly to himself. "But how is Catherine Chandler and that other couple tied in to all this?"

As Booth stared through the binoculars, pondering that question, the cloaked figure turned to face Catherine and pulled back his hood then spoke again. "And thank you, my love, for making my very strange life worth living."

Booth was overcome with panic as he felt his world disintegrating out from under him. He continued to stare at the impossible apparition transfixed by what it had to mean. The hallucinations were back! He dropped the binoculars and staggered back into the wall behind him, shaking his head. "Not again!" He pleaded with the universe. "I've already lost too much of myself. I can't go through this again. There'll be nothing left of me." He slowly slid down the wall, his mind swirling with thoughts of loosing himself, a piece at a time, until there was nothing left but a hollow shell.

Brennan dropped the directional microphone and stared in rapidly deepening worry as Booths expression degenerated into despair while he mumbled something about losing himself. "Booth?" She inquired worriedly. The next moment she whipped back around, picked up the binoculars and looked through them to see what Booth had seen that could reduce him to such a state. The image came into focus and Brennan gasped at the impossible creature that was now staring straight back in her direction. "No, it can't be! It's just not possible!" She exclaimed.

A groan from Booth drew her attention to him. He had slid down the wall and was now crouched on the ground shaking his head and mumbling to himself. "I can't do this again. There'll be nothing left of me."

Brennan knelt down in front of him and called to him. "Booth? . . ." She touched his shoulder. "Booth! . .." She roughly shook his shoulder. " **Booth** , look at me!"

Booth looked up at her, desperation mixed with despair suffused in his features. "Their back, Bones. The hallucinations are back." Then his head was in his hands.

Brennan was now totally focused on Booth and she didn't see the three people that came up behind her. She pulled Booth's hands away from his face. "Listen to me Booth! You're not hallucinating. I saw the creature as plain as I can see you now. The tumor is not coming back. What you saw is real."

"Who are you?" A voice behind her demanded. Brennan whipped around to see Catherine Diana and Dennis standing nearby scowling at her.

Catherine's expression changed to one of surprise with a hint of fear. " **You?** " Her glance alternated between Booth and Brennan. "We were told that you went back to DC yesterday. Why are you spying on us?" She demanded.

Brennan barely heard what was said over the chaotic thoughts whirling through her mind. She stood and looked past the three confronting her but the place where they had been standing a few moments ago was now deserted. "Where is it? What happened to the creature?" Brennan demanded in return as she looked around for any sign of it. "You have to bring it back."

The use of certain words that Catherine had been expecting and fearing sent a cold shiver up her spine. "What are you talking about?" Catherine evaded. As she glanced back and forth between the two, she finally noticed the palpable look of distress on Brennan's face. She paused to look a bit closer. Her gaze was irresistibly drawn back to Booth, huddled with his face a mask of total despair. "What is wrong with him?" She added, finding herself to be nearly as disturbed by the look on the agent's face as she was at their discovery of Vincent's existence.

"That creature that was with you three . . ." Brennan pointed toward the empty pool of light. ". . . over there. Booth saw it and now he thinks that the hallucinations are coming back." Brennan's voice took on a tone of entreaty. "I have to find that creature and prove to Booth that it is real." Her voice became softer and more desperate as she glanced toward Booth. "Otherwise I may lose him to his own very real and very deep fears." She looked back at Catherine.

Catherine could hear the desperate urgency in the woman's words as well as see it in her face. After a moment's reflection, her own attitude softened slightly in response. "What is this all about hallucinations and what does it have to do with . . . the creature, as you called him?" She inquired in her best stern courtroom attitude.

Brennan paused to calm herself so that she could talk coherently and explain the problem to these three people. She glanced over at Booth and took a deep breath to clear her mind. For Booths sake she needed to get through to them just how important this situation was. With one more glance at Booth she took a deep calming breath.

Then she began to speak. "The first indication we had that there was something wrong was when Agent Booth started having hallucinations. Agent Booth is one of the most stable, sensible people I know. We immediately sent him to the hospital to find out what was happening to him. Tests showed that he had a brain tumor. He was rushed into surgery and it was successfully removed. The biopsy of the tumor indicated that it was benign so we had hope for a complete recovery. But after he woke up from the operation we discovered that he had lost some of his memories. More devastating was the discovery that there had been some minor changes in his personality. None of them were serious but they were noticeable, such as his preferred style of dress, how he would walk up stairs, which hand he used to hold his cell phone . . ." Brennan shook her head to dispel the disturbing cloud of sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her rational objectivity. "And there were changes in his attitude toward some things that he liked or disliked."

Brennan looked around to see that she had the full attention of the three people. Her voice trembled. "I have to . . ."

She paused a moment to compose herself. "I have to convince him that the creature is real, he could retreat so deeply into himself that I will never get him back He wanted so badly to find the two girls that escaped that he may think that that older woman is also not real. " She paused a moment as she glanced over at Booth. "I am having a difficult enough time convincing myself that I saw what I saw. It is going to be very difficult to convince Booth that the creature is real and not a hallucination even when it is standing right in front of him."

Catherine was torn between her need to protect Vincent, her annoyance at the way this woman referred to Vincent as a "creature", and her sympathy for the plight of Agent Booth. The annoyance at the 'creature' remark momentarily won out. She retorted rather sharply. "To begin with he is **not** a creature . . . and his **name** is **Vincent**." She paused to compose herself.

Then her sense of caution and her protectiveness toward Vincent kicked in and her voice shifted from sharp to courtroom stern. "And if you want our help then **anything** you learn tonight stays strictly between us. You must swear that you will never tell anyone else about him. I also want your word that you will not interfere with our lives afterwards or try to turn him into some kind of lab study."

Brennan thought for only a moment. "Whatever you want." She realized that she would do anything if it would help bring Booth back to her. "I agree to all your terms." Paused expectantly but inside she was wondering what would happen next and worrying about Booth.

Catherine gazed at Brennan for a moment then shifted her gaze to Booth, still huddled down against the wall. Then Catherine's eyes glazed over and for several seconds she seemed totally oblivious to her surroundings.

Brennan quickly became concerned about the way Catherine seemed to have completely zoned out. She looked curiously at Dennis and Diana. "What's wrong with her?"

Diana and Dennis looked at each other and seemed to engage in a quick silent exchange the Dennis nodded. Diana shook her head and responded. "Nothing's wrong. Just give her a second."

Finally Catherine snapped out of it and began issuing orders. "Diana, Vincent has gone below and is heading toward the community. He's moving much slower than normal so Jennifer must still be with him. I need you to catch up to Vincent and Jennifer, and make sure they get to the brownstone. Dennis, Doctor Brennan, you need to help me get Agent Booth over to my place."

Though he seemed to be barely aware of his surrounding they were able to get Booth up and moving and were able to get him into Dennis and Diana's rather nondescript sedan. And the four of them headed south in the direction of Central Park. Brennan soon realized that they were driving down Central Park West. When they pulled up to a brownstone across the street from Central Park, Brennan was very surprised. Back when her book had become a best seller she had been urged by her publicist into looking for a new apartment. She had remarked on the extravagant cost of all the places she had been shown. Her Real-estate agent had comment that the price was pocket change compared to comparable places in the Central Park West area of New York.

~ o ~

In a very short time the four of them entered Catherine's brownstone. Brennan's first impression was one of significant wealth without being ostentatious. After a quick glance around she inquired of Catherine. "Where is the crea . . . ahhh Vincent?"

Catherine was once again speaking in her best serious courtroom manor. "Before I say anything I must again have your guarantee that nothing said or seen here will not go beyond these walls. The only reason I'm doing this is for his sake . . ." She pointed to Booth. ". . . and for Vincent and Jennifer's sakes. Neither would want your partner to suffer because of them." She cocked her head staring hard at Brennan. "However I will not let any harm come to Vincent or Jennifer so I must have your word that you will tell no one what you learn here tonight."

Brennan glanced uncertainly between Booth and Catherine, her strong desire to pass on what she had already seen at war with her need to help her partner get through this. Finally she relented. "You have my word, for Booth's sake." She straightened her shoulders. "When can we meet the . . . this Vincent?"

Catherine studied the other woman for a moment. Over the short time she had worked with these two she had learned that Brennan tended to be unemotionally, and sometimes brutally, truthful. Catherine believed that Brennan would keep her word. She began Explaining. "Vincent and Jennifer will be here in a little bit. They are on foot and Jennifer isn't as young as the rest of us." Catherine responded. "Why don't you and Agent Booth have a seat and we can talk."

Though Booth seemed to be lost in a dazed state, he was still cognizant enough to respond to Catherine's comment and sat on the nearest Love seat. Brennan immediately sat down beside him. She reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Dennis sat down on the sofa and Catherine took the other love seat. A few moments of awkward silence followed.

In the bright light of the elegant parlor Brennan took a moment to look more closely at the newest person in this situation. Catherine had called him Dennis. His eyes drew her gaze. They were an unusually intense shade of blue that she had never seen before. After a moment she forced her forced her attention away from Dennis and turned toward Booth.

Brennan took Booth's hand and spoke softly but urgently to him. "Booth?" He turned his head to look at her. Encourage by the fact that he had responded to his name she continued. 'Your greatest strength is your ability to read people. You need to use that gift now to see that we are all speaking the truth here."

As Brennan's words Booth turned his attention to Catherine Chandler. He had begun to pay more attention to his surroundings and the wealth represented by this place was unmistakable. He had always disliked and distrusted the extremely wealthy and their sense of aloof entitlement. However Catherine Chandler never quite seemed to fit the type he was expecting. He had been certain from the very beginning of this investigation that she was hiding some deep dark secret but he was also convinced that there was no evil in her motives. He mulled over these incongruent impression. He turned his gaze to Brennan and felt faint wave of peace flow through him at the concerned look in her eyes.

Brennan noticed the slight easing of tension at the returning signs of awareness in her partner's eyes. She just hoped that she was right to force the coming confrontation. She knew that if she was wrong this could end up making things much worse. But if she didn't try to prove that Vincent was real Booth would continue to doubt himself and end up digging himself deeper into the pit he had fallen into.

She forced her attention back to Catherine. Finally Brennan spoke. "You called the older woman Jennifer . . . What can you tell us about her and is she really one of the two girls that managed to escape?"

This statement got Booths attention and he was suddenly more interested in what was being said. His fear for his mental condition and his confusing impressions of Catherine Chandler were shoved to the back of his consciousness. Here was his chance to get some of his questions answered.

Several possible ideas on what to tell them and how to explain it to them occurred to her in rapid succession. Most of them were quickly rejected. Catherine studied the two people in front of her a moment before responding. "Suppose I told you that not all records of what happened back then were destroyed?"

Brennan and Booth both responded strongly to her question. "You have some of those records?" Brennan asked as Booth leaned forward, eager to hear Catherine's response.

Catherine studied the faces of the two guests a moment. In particular, she noticed the dramatic shift in Booth's demeanor. This was it she knew how she wanted to do this. Finally she began to explain. "As far as I know, all of Julian's records were destroyed when his place burned down. However, about fifteen years ago, through a series of events that I won't go into right now, a close friend of mine came across eight pages that had apparently been torn from a diary or journal of some kind."

She studied their faces a moment and saw curiosity in Brennan's eyes and strong hints of anticipation in Booth's eyes. She nodded unconsciously to herself and continued. "Those pages turned out to be a chronicle of a young pregnant girl's escape from a sadistic madman named Julian and how her child was born in a back alley where she was hiding from her pursuers." She could see their now intense interest. Booth was showing much more animation as he leaned more forward in his seat. "Because of some things that I already knew about, I was able to verify that the written account was probably a factual report of what had actually happened that night."

Booth spoke for the first time since the incident at the construction site. "I need to see those records."

Catherine gazed at Booth for a moment. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea but the look in Brennan's eyes made her rethink that position. Maybe those very tangible pages would help Booth to more readily accept the reality of Vincent. She responded. "Now that I think about it, that might just be the best way to explain what happened. Also it might better prepare you for when Jennifer and Vincent arrive." She glanced at the Rolex watch on her wrist. "It's going to take them a while to get here." She stood up. "I'll be right back." She quickly disappeared up the impressive spiral staircase that dominated the parlor.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, both faces showing uncertainty and curiosity in equal measure along with a hint of excitement. Brennan was gratified to see Booth looking more like his normal self but she could still detect a current of self doubt in his demeanor.

A few minutes later Catherine arrived holding a folder. As she sat down she explained. "This is just a photocopy of those pages I mentioned. The original diary pages are too precious to us and are kept in a safe place." She handed the folder to Brennan. "I warn you, that is a very personal and emotional account of a young girl's harrowing ordeal."

Brennan opened the folder to find several loose pages that were obviously copies of slightly smaller hand written pages. She began reading the first page, holding it so that Booth could read as well. As she finished a page she handed it to Booth since she could read slightly faster than him. - (Note to reader: If you are interested, the text of the eight diary pages, they can be found at the end of the first chapter of my story 'A Mother's Diary'.)

The pages were the story, told in her own words, of a young girl that that had been tricked and imprisoned by an evil man, named Julian, who had performed some very unpleasant experiments on the girl. These experiments had eventually resulted in her becoming pregnant by artificial means. Once she had realized that she would be killed once the baby was born she had become even more determined to escape. Her chance finally came when she first started to go into labor. Her desperate flight to freedom had been brought to a halt when she collapsed in a back alley where she gave birth to a baby with distinctly feline features. The baby had apparently died within minutes of being born. The girl, being on the run and in fear for her life had hidden the dead baby behind the trash and stumbled away, still trying to find her way out of the city. The story ended with her apparently collapsing from exhaustion on, what sounded like, the Brooklyn Bridge. After they finished reading, they looked at Catherine, their faces both showing how deeply the story had moved them.

Booth was the first one to speak. "What happened to the girl in the story?"

Catherine responded. "That girl is Jennifer and she was found by a nice young man that happened to be driving across the bridge when she collapsed. He picked her up and once he understood the gravity of her situation took her out of New York intending to take her as far as she wanted to go. He found a small town doctor in Pennsylvania to treat her medical condition. He ended up taking her all the way to his home in Arizona. They fell in love and were married. Dennis . . ." She nodded toward the named person. "is their son."

Catherine paused a moment to let them absorb what she told them before continuing. "As far as the baby goes, despite convincing outward appearances, he was not quite dead yet." That statement elicited raised eyebrows from both of her listeners. She now had their rapt attention as she continued. "Those three street people, Jennifer saw as she left that alley, found the dying baby and took it with them. One of the men was a brilliant but disgraced medical researcher and he was able to save the baby's life. After that the man raised the very unique baby as his own child. The child was named Vincent because he was found in the alley behind Saint Vincent Hospital."

 ** _Continued in part 6_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


	6. Chapter 6

**The Girls In The Ground  
** Bones / Beauty And The Beast  
 _by Thomas Mc_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Catherine got that same blank look on her face that Brennan had noticed before. A second later Catherine announced. "Vincent and Jennifer will be here in about two minutes."

Brennan had glanced down at her watch with a frown.

At the same time Booth looked at Catherine with fair dose of doubt. "How can you know that so accurately?"

Dennis was the one to respond with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Probably because Cathy knows that they have reached the bottom of the basement access stairs."

Brennan addressed Dennis. "You both may have a fair idea how long it takes to get here from there but it still doesn't explain how she can know his exact location. There are too many variables, speed, exact route, unexpected encounters, to be able to judge their position that accurately."

Dennis laughed, shaking his head. "You are working under the wrong assumptions. This has nothing to do with dead-reckoning or typical walking time." He glanced at Catherine and she shrugged in response. Dennis continued. "I know that he is at the Basement access because it takes about two minutes to reach this room from the bottom of the basement access. As for Cathy, she always knows exactly where Vincent is."

"That is not logical." Brennan insisted. She glanced around dubiously. "I see no device for tracking in evidence."

"That's because there is no tracking device involved." Dennis responded.

At that moment, Catherine glanced toward the back of the place. "They're here; right on time."

Brennan glanced down at her watch as they were interrupted by the sound of a door from the back of the brownstone. Almost two minutes. Too close to be coincidence.

Brennan and Booth both glanced in the same direction that Catherine and Dennis were looking. Stepping through the opening from the dining room was Jennifer and a very large, very fierce looking and very real lion-man. Brennan and Booth both gasped in surprise. The lion-man looked so much more real and so much more impressive up close in the bright light of Catherine's parlor.

Brennan grabbed Booth's hand tightly. "My God, he's real. It's not possible." She looked at Booth and shook her head. "You are seeing what I'm seeing, aren't you?" Up until this very moment Brennan had been harboring a very tangible doubt that that she had really seen what she thought she saw through the binoculars earlier. She had convinced herself that Vincent must have been wearing some type of mask. Her gaze traveled the length of him, taking in every detail from his very mobile leonine face and impressive size to his fur covered hands that ended in very deadly looking claws. She took in every detail, looking for some type of evidence of a hoax. But she could see nothing that might indicate that he was anything other than what he appeared to be.

Booth nodded his head with an expression of awe and uncertainty then looked at Brennan. "You see him too? A lion-man?" At her nod, he felt a weight begin to lift from his mind. If Brennan was also seeing the lion–man, then he must be real. His gaze shifted back to the approaching lion-man. The lion-man, that Catherine called Vincent, was huge and looked very powerful. Booth did not think that he would be easy to bring down should he turn hostile.

The older woman and the lion man came over to stand beside Catherine as Booth and Brennan continued to stare with uncertainty and wonder at the new arrivals.

"How could this be?" Brennan asked softly.

Catherine responded with a snort. "We've been asking that question for years."

Booth reluctantly pulled his eyes away from Vincent and reoriented on Catherine. "But What I don't understand is how you could be involved in all of this."

Catherine shrugged as a soft smile spread across her face. "That is easy; Vincent is my husband." She cocked her head a bit. " And the father of my children."

Two chins dropped simultaneously as Catherine put her arm around Vincent's waist and he put his arm across her shoulder.

"What?!" Booth exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

Seconds later Brennan's brow furrowed in thought as she spoke up. "Thennn . . . that means that whatever this Julian did, it has to be cosmetic . . . sommme kind of . . . bizarre form of fetal plastic surgery." She declared.

Catherine shook her head. "No, whatever he did, it had to be at the genetic level because both of our son's look just like their father."

"That's not possible." Brennan declared. "Modern genetic research is not even close to that kind of extensive manipulation." Brennan declared. "Especially more than forty years ago."

"Wait a minute, **sons**?" Booth remarked belatedly. "There are no records of any male children born to you. I checked."

Catherine responded to Booth a bit acerbically. "Of course there are no records. Both of my sons look just like Vincent and like their father we have kept them secret for their own safety." She turned her attention to Brennan. "A doctor friend of ours was able to run a DNA test on Vincent. He said that Vincent's DNA is human with the exception of his . . . ahh 'Y' gene. That is where he said that all of the changes were located." Catherine shrugged and rested her head against Vincent's side. "I don't really understand it but our doctor friend says that it explains why only our sons look like Vincent."

Booth saw obvious signs of intimacy in the way Catherine and Vincent were 'leaning' into each other. His thoughts drifted momentarily to Brennan, and then he again remembered what Sweets had said about his feelings for Brennan being just a temporary side effect of his brain surgery and forced his mind back to Catherine and Vincent.

Brennan thought that she saw a very strong connection between them. For a moment she felt a hint of envy for what they seemed to have. The next instant she ruthlessly suppressed it. Booth was not interested in her that way.

After asking permission, Brennan stepped closer and touched Vincent's arm then got Booth to touch his arm as well. There could be no doubt for either of them that Vincent was very real and very solid. The physical contact banished the last of Booth's fears that Vincent was only an hallucination. As the reality of Vincent sank in Booth's old self-assurance began to emerge.

Brennan studied Vincent's face a moment. "The modification is more extensive than just cosmetic changes. There is significant change in the underlying skeletal structure. The slight snout like protuberance around the mouth and the flattened nasal ridge . . ." She cocked her head. "Could you open your mouth please?"

Vincent cocked an eyebrow. At first Catherine felt a spark of annoyance shoot through her and the woman's cold clinical callousness and was about to cut loose with a piece of her mind when she felt Vincent's calming projection wash over her. The next instant she could feel Brennan's rampant curiosity and Booth's acute embarrassment, both echoed to her through Vincent as well as his amusement over the whole thing. After a second Vincent opened his mouth displaying a very impressive set of fangs.

Booth felt a streak of alarm pass through him at the thought of what those fangs could do in a fight.

Brennan's blinked. "Smooth natural transition of the oral skeletal structure to accommodate all of the modifications. . ." Her gaze shifted to one of his hands. "The changes also extend to the phalanges." She looked at Catherine. "Are his feet like his hands?"

Catherine looked over at Vincent, a bit annoyed for his sake. Again he quirked an eyebrow in amusement but this time she was not so easily mollified. She responded acerbically. "He's right there in front of you. Why don't you ask **him**."

Out of the corner of her eye Catherine caught a hint of annoyance and embarrassment crossing Booth's face.

Brennan blinked twice then her gaze shifted expectantly.

After a second Vincent finally spoke. "Yes my feet match my hands. It makes it difficult to wear socks."

Brennan felt an unexpected and very strong wave of erotic desire pass through her at the sound of Vincent's gentle yet extremely masculine voice. At the same time her mind turned to thoughts of Booth. It took her several seconds to force her libido to behave and to get her mind back to the subject at hand.

Catherine smirked at Brennan's rather typical reaction to Vincent's voice. ' _That should knock some of that cold smugness out of her._ ' Catherine thought to herself. It was amusing watching Brennan struggle to regain control of herself.

Meanwhile Booth was dealing with how intimidated that commanding voice made him feel.

Brennan finally got control of her voice. "How could modifications this extensive exist without giving rise to a separate species? Changes this extensive should render him genetically incompatible with a normal human."

Catherine shrugged. "Oh, Vincent and I are very compatible and we have five natural children to prove it."

Brennan glanced back and forth between Catherine and Vincent. "It's a shame that they are probably asleep. I would very much like to meet your children . . . particularly the boys."

Catherine stared back at Brennan for a moment then looked over at Vincent. Vincent looked at Brennan and she felt as though he could see straight into her soul. It was a very disconcerting feeling. Then Catherine and Vincent both glanced toward the staircase. Vincent chuckled and Catherine simply smiled.

Catherine called out. "OK you bunch of rascals; I know that you're up there listening in. You may as well come on down and meet our guests."

There was a few seconds of silence then the sound of several feet moving around upstairs. Then several bare feet attached to pajama clad legs appeared on the massive spiral staircase that dominated the back side of the parlor. Brennan found herself fighting hard to keep her emotions under control.

The first two to come completely into view was a leonine male and a normal looking female. They both appeared to be in their early teens. They were followed by two pre-adolescent girls. Next came a young adolescent leonine male followed closely by a young adult female. They seemed to move as a single unit as the group cautiously approached, stopping next to Vincent and Catherine.

Catherine began introducing them in the order that they had appeared. "This is my oldest son Jacob and his twin sister Jennifer. Jacob is named after the man that raised Vincent and Jennifer is named after . . . Jennifer, Vincent's mother" She shrugged in deference to the obvious. These two girls are my other set of twins, Nancy and Brigit. This other handsome young man is Charles. He's named after my father. And finally we have Naomi, our oldest."

Booth frowned at the oldest girl. "When I was investigating, I there was no mention of Naomi." He looked expectantly at Catherine. "Why is that?"

Catherine placed an arm around Naomi's shoulder. "Naomi was adopted through the witness protection program when she was six. Agent McClendon arranged it." Catherine looked on Naomi with parental pride in her eyes. "Naomi is home on a break from college where she is majoring in Criminology. As a young girl she idolized her 'Uncle James',"

" **Mooom!** " Naomi rolled her eyes.

Catherine grinned at her eldest daughter then continued. "You know him as Agent James McClendon. Naomi hopes to join the FBI after she graduates."

Booth looked again at Naomi. "Did Agent McClendon know about Vincent when he arranged the adoption?"

"Of Course he knew. That was one of the reasons he arranged it." Catherine responded. "It was Vincent that rescued Naomi when her family was killed. He knew that she would be safe with us." She gave Naomi a quick pat and a hug. "Now I think that it's time for you children to go to bed."

After each of the kids collected a hug from Catherine and Vincent, They all trouped up the stairs. Brennan and Booth both found it interesting that Vincent and the boys appearance seem to have no effect. There interactions looked like any normal close family.

After the children had gone up stairs, Booth and Brennan talked with Jennifer and Dennis about what had happened to her so long ago. She told them what happened after she collapsed on the Brooklyn Bridge. Then the conversation shifted to how Catherine first became involved with Vincent. Catherine told them how Vincent had found her dying in the park, after she had been brutally attacked, and took her to a secret place where she was cared for until she was strong enough to return to her own world.

"I do have one question." Booth remarked. At Catherine's nod he continued. "Just how much does Agent McClendon know about all this?" He indicated Vincent and the copied pages on the coffee table.

Catherine smiled. "Oh James and Vincent have known each other for years. Whenever he has a witness that is too hot for even Witness Protection to handle, he contacts Vincent for help."

At that moment they were interrupted by the ringing of Booth's cell phone. He glanced at it then held up one finger. "One moment, I have to take this." He answered the phone, listened for a couple of seconds then responded. "We'll be there as soon as possible." Then he put the phone away and addressed the others in the room. "Brennan and I need to go back to DC immediately. We have a new case. Something about a body on an airport parking structure."

Brennan up to leave then paused. "What about Hodgins car?"

Catherine responded. "I have a friend with access to a plane that can carry you and your car back to DC." She went to the kitchen and made a quick call then returned to the Parlor. "If you meet Elliot at Hanger 23 in one hour he will have a plane waiting that can take you both and your car back to DC. You will have to hurry."

Booth and Brennan thanked Catherine for her help and started for the door. At the door Brennan turned back to Catherine and Vincent to ask a question that had been nagging at her since she learned that Vincent's unique appearance was due to an alteration of his genetics. "I have to ask. What was that madman trying to accomplish with you and the others?"

Catherine responded. "We don't really know what he had planned. As far as we know, what records remained, were destroyed when Gabriel's place burned down." Then Catherine's smile turned mischievous and she reached up and ran her fingers through Vincent's thick mane. "Personally, I think he was trying to find a cure for hair loss."

 ** _The End  
_**

* * *

 _'_ ** _Bones_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox._

 _'_ ** _Beauty and the Beast_** _'_ _and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures._

 _No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given._


End file.
